Tag Archives: household

We have completed this series.  I hope that you have made some of the changes in your home.  You don’t need to start big, just small baby steps.  If you just change one thing a week or even a month, it will be an improvement upon what you are doing now.

I know for our family personally this has been a huge money saver in our home.  I am constantly thinking that I need to wash that baggie out and save that plastic piece to reuse it.  I know the chemicals that I used before were costing us alot of money, making my own has made things much simpler and cheaper as well.  The only thing is that it takes some time making the cleaners.  I started making my all purpose cleaner and quadrupling it and putting it in an old water milk jug.  So that when i do run out, I don’t have to stop what I am doing and tend to mixing up another batch, now  I just pour directly from my gallon jug.  So much easier.

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough, we must do.” – Leonardo da da Vinci

I love burning a nice smelling candle in my home almost every night.  I never thought until recently are there toxins in what I am burning in my home??   That led me to a little research online and YES there are toxins in the candles I was burning.

So, what’s wrong with my candles?
According to a recent study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 40 percent of candles on the market contain lead wires inside their wicks. Most often, the candles with lead wicks are scented candles. Fragrance oils soften the wax, so the manufacturers use lead to make the wicks firmer.

A candle with a lead-core wick releases five times the amount of lead considered hazardous for children and exceeds EPA pollution standards for outdoor air, says the CPSC. Exposure to high amounts of lead has been linked to hormone disruption, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and numerous health problems.

So what can we do with all of that??  First of all, ensure that any new candles you purchase don’t have lead in the wicks. Look for a “lead free” label, or perform the “No-Lead Test”.

1. Look for a “lead-free” label when shopping for new candles.
2. For unburnt candles, rub the tip of the wick on a piece of paper. If it leaves a gray mark, like a pencil, the wick contains a lead core. If you’ve already purchased the candle, take it back to the store and tell the manager why you’re demanding a refund.
3. For candles that have already been burned, you should just throw out any that have metal cores as a precaution. Simply look at the tip of the wick and see if it has a metal core. If you still can’t tell, peel back some of the cotton.

Now if my candles are bad, what else can I do to “naturally” freshen my home??

• Keep the odors down in your household.  Keep trash cans emptied, throw diapers outside in the trash, wipe up and disinfect “smelly” areas, and keep pet smells under wraps.
• Give your household a good old fashioned open window policy. Nothing is better than fresh air flowing through your household.
• If your kitchen is smelly from cooking fish say…..boil some vinegar on the stove or in your microwave.  It will take away the smell.
• Set a pot on your stove with water and some spices and simmer for a few hours.  I like to do cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.  Or use vanilla or almond extract.  You can boil cut up oranges and lemons as well.  Experiment with different spices to give a great quick scent.   Be sure to keep the water level in your pan as to not burn it.
• A few drops of essential oils dropped in different areas helps with scent controls.  Or you can mix it with some water and alcohol in a spray bottle and in the air.

You want to avoid all the “heavy-strong” smelling factory made air fresheners.  Most all contain carcinogens.  Look at part 2 of this series for links to the Cancer Prevention Coalition website that lists many products that contain these harmful substances.  They cause many harmful side effects as well.  Even though they smell so great, you want to avoid all those chemical laden product, for the safety of your children and yourself.

Look for part 19…how to repel bugs naturally

We prefer to do our dishes manually by hand but if you use your dishwasher, know that on the back of your box of detergent are some pretty strict warnings.  How many of us accidentally drop a few grains of dishwashing crystals onto the floor and then have our crawling babies get it on their hands?    It is highly toxic and the box recommends we don’t even breathe it in.  But we are going to wash our dishes where all our food and drinks touch and then enter our bodies???  Doesn’t sound right.

Here is an alternative that is safer to use. Mix the following into a bowl.

• 1 cup borax
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid–found in the canning section
• 1/2 cup kosher salt (for scrubbing action)
• optional– essential oils,  10 drops of orange

Use 1 Tbsp per load.  Even when the detergent opening is larger and will fit more into it, on the back of your “store bought detergent” it recommends using 1 Tbsp only, save your money and use the correct amount.

The citric acid will cause your mixture to “clump.”  If you leave your mixture out on the counter for a few days that will disappear.

For rinsing aid, use straight vinegar .

Are you reducing the amount of chemicals you bring into your home?  Start on day 1 of this series and see why it is so important to remove as much as possible toxic chemicals and cleaners in your home.